Leadership and Management Ideas You Can Use
Worried about staff turnover? You probably should be. The Great Resignation may be hitting the for-profit labor market hardest but many nonprofits are feeling it too. Here are six steps to minimize turnover and reduce its impact on your nonprofit.
Read MoreAmidst the crises of last fall, many nonprofits took a break both from performance reviews and from thinking much about salary increases. But there's no putting these off this year. Nonprofit leaders are realizing that how they approach reviews and raises can either strengthen organizational culture and retention—or exacerbate staff turnover.
Read MoreThe worst thing about being a manager is firing someone. But if you handle the situation well, you can minimize the pain to all concerned and construct a healthy path forward. In this first of a series on terminations, I talk about how and why to use a Severance Agreement to help make the best of a bad situation.
Read MoreIs getting a handle on your nonprofit's financial circumstances causing you too much aggravation? Part of the problem may be that you’re using the wrong tool.
Read MoreFor nonprofit managers, performance reviews present a paradox. They primarily focus on the past, tallying accomplishments and disappointments, goals met and goals deferred. But isn’t the whole point of management is to successfully influence the future? Here’s how to resolve the paradox.
Read MoreLooking ahead at 2021, income uncertainty is off the charts. The pandemic, recession, stock market volatility, government shortfalls, election and evolving foundation and donor priorities are combining to create as unpredictable a funding environment as we’ve ever seen. With budget planning season fast approaching, many nonprofits have an extraordinary challenge on their hands. Here's what you can do:
Read MoreAs the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly remakes our world, nonprofits are grappling with the financial turmoil. Unfortunately, many Boards of Directors are poorly positioned to collaborate with staff leadership in guiding their organizations forward. Often, the only time Boards are accustomed to focusing on the future is when they approve a budget. The rest of the year, they look backwards, receiving financial reports for past periods and comparing them to an ever more dated budget. This reinforce a deep divide between what the Board is paying attention to and what is important. Here’s how you can narrow the gap.
Read MoreYou and your team were not sent home to telework; you were sent home to avoid spreading a virus, to take care of loved ones, to teach children and to physically distance from everyone else in your communities. As a manager, the work that your team is able to accomplish under these circumstances depends primarily on your ability to recognize these challenges and to adapt. Here's what you can do…
Read MoreYour nonprofit is so much more than “just” a business, but it is still a business, with income to collect and bills to pay. Unfortunately, many nonprofits will be at extreme financial risk over the next few months, and most are not prepared to meet the challenge. Here's what you need to do…
Read MoreAdvocates for merit pay believe that both basic fairness and organizational interests require that staff who perform better than their peers should be compensated accordingly. This isn’t crazy. But for most nonprofit organizations, it’s a bad idea.
Read MoreMany nonprofit leaders equate financial decision-making with passing an annual budget. The idea is that once the budget is passed, their job is just to implement. Unfortunately, this breaks down when the expectations and assumptions underlying the budget turn out to be inaccurate or incomplete. Ongoing financial choices requires another tool—the Monthly Cash Flow Projection.
Read MoreHere are a few of the most important features of the model Monthly Cash Flow Projection.
Read MoreMany nonprofits rely to a significant extent on contributions or grants intended for specific purposes, known as restricted funds. Nonprofit accounting places great importance on distinguishing between restricted and unrestricted funds to ensure that the donor intent embodied by the restrictions is respected. Whether viewed from a legal, ethical or accounting perspective, this is all well and good.
Read MoreThe annual budget presents a nonprofit’s financial plan for of an uncertain future by setting both limits and goals. The limits in a budget are expressed as authorized expenses. Some budget goals are incorporated into those authorized expenses, either implicitly or explicitly contingent on future events. Other goals show up as income lines as projections of what amounts of revenue are hoped for from different revenue streams. The combination is essential but confusing, which is one reason many nonprofits are not able to maximize the value of their budgets.
Read MoreWhen times are hard, nonprofit leaders don’t need to think about year-end bonuses. But when you find yourself with positive net income and your staff is asking if they will see a little bit of the upside – you may want to consider bonuses. Here’s how to make a good decision…
Read MoreRestricted income is the lifeblood of many nonprofits. Smart organizations steward that income carefully, making sure that funds are allocated only to appropriate expenses. Knowing whether funds are restricted or unrestricted is a critical accounting distinction. But from a financial management perspective, that distinction is far less meaningful and may even be confusing.
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